From Ground to Sky: Enhancing UAV Connectivity with 5G and Beyond
Table of Contents
Seminars-1-2026 - This article is part of a series.
Abstract #
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are rapidly emerging as a key component of next-generation wireless ecosystems, enabling a wide range of applications from surveillance and emergency response to logistics and infrastructure monitoring. This talk provides an overview of UAV communications, highlighting their potential benefits in terms of flexibility, mobility, and rapid deployment. We discuss the communication requirements defined by 3GPP for UAV operations, including reliability, latency, coverage, and safety considerations. The talk also examines the fundamental challenges of integrating UAVs into existing cellular networks, such as interference management, mobility support, and spectrum sharing. Furthermore, we explore how 5G technologies can address these challenges, presenting potential solutions and implementation strategies for enabling efficient and safe UAV communications. Finally, we outline future research directions and opportunities, including the role of UAVs in advanced use cases such as aerial highways and large-scale autonomous systems.
Bio #
Dr. David López-Pérez is an expert in wireless communications, focused on making networks like cellular and Wi-Fi faster, smarter, and more energy-efficient. Since February 2023, he’s been a Distinguished Researcher at the Universitat Politècnica de València, working with the Institute for Telecommunications and Multimedia Applications (iTEAM). His work revolves around solving real-world challenges in data-driven network modeling and optimization, applying machine learning to networks, and developing technologies for greener and more sustainable networking.
David’s career is a mix of academic achievements and hands-on industry experience. He earned his PhD in wireless communications from the University of Bedfordshire, UK, as a Marie Curie Fellow, followed by postdoctoral research at King’s College London. In the telecom industry, David held senior roles at some of the biggest global companies.
At Nokia Bell Labs in Dublin, he climbed the ranks from Research Engineer to Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (DMTS), working on a variety of advanced projects. His research covered topics like small cells, ultra-dense networks, massive MIMO, cellular and Wi-Fi inter-working, and the development of Wi-Fi 7 technologies.
Later, at Huawei Technologies in Paris, David served as an Expert and Technical Leader, where he led projects on data-driven network modelling and optimization, machine learning for network automation, and enhancing network energy efficiency and drone communications.
David has published widely, with three books, 13 book chapters, and over 189 papers, including 76 journal articles in top-tier publications. He’s also filed 59 patent applications. His current research interests span areas like 6G, cm-wave operation, ultra-dense networks, non-terrestrial networks, drone communications, energy efficiency, and leveraging big data and machine learning to improve wireless systems.
His work has earned him several prestigious awards, including the IEEE ComSoc Best Young Professional in Industry Award (2016), the Bell Labs Distinguished Member of Technical Staff (2019), the IEEE WCNC Best Student Paper Award (2019), the IEEE Globecom Best Paper Award (2022), and the the IEEE ICC Best Paper Award (2025). With over 12,000 citations (h-index = 49), his contributions to wireless communications are widely recognized in the field.
Beyond research, David has led interdisciplinary teams that combine wireless technology with data science and machine learning, involving large number of researchers. He has also been actively involved in projects with the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance and has served as an editor for IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications.
Contact #
E-mail: d.lopez@iteam.upv.es
Affiliation #
Universitat Politècnica de València
Resources and Materials #
FEEC UNICAMP streams
Personal website
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